The Mayor of Casterbridge

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) was born in Dorset, England, son of a stonemason. Though a gifted student, he was unable to afford to attend university. He was apprenticed to an architect at age sixteen and worked in London for several years before returning to Dorset and dedicating himself to writing novels and poems. He is most famous for his novels Far from the Madding Crowd, The Return of the Native, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Jude the Obscure, and Tess of the d'Urbervilles.